Ratier-Figeac is an

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

components manufacturer in

Figeac Figeac (; oc, Fijac) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis, a major hiking medieval pilgrimage trail which is part of the Way of St. ...

, France. From 1926 until 1930 it also built a

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

with a 746 cc

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

. From 1959 until 1962 Ratier made

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s, having taken over the motorcycle business of the Centre d'Études de Moteurs à Explosion et à Combustion ( CEMEC). The engines were

flat-twin A flat-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders on opposite sides of the crankshaft. The most common type of flat-twin engine is the boxer-twin engine, where both pistons move inwards and outwards at the same ti ...

s derived from

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

BMW designs.

History

Ratier was originally a joinery firm at the beginning of the century. By the outbreak of the first world-war, the company specialized in propeller blades for the aircraft of the French Air Force. Afterwards it produced for the French mail service Aéropostale all the way through its heyday of the 1930s when the service broke many flight-records. The factory was originally in

Malakoff Malakoff () is a suburban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris, France. Located from the centre of the city, it had a population of 30,286 in 2016. The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) is base ...

and then transferred to

Montrouge Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years. ...

. Much of its workload consisted of the contract work it received from

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

to produce the Citroenette, a child's pedal-car. Paulin Ratier fabricated a prototype propeller-car which never made it into production. The company produced a rally-car which went on to win many races, such as the

Bol d'or The Bol d’Or is a 24-hour endurance race for motorcycles, held annually in France. The riding of each bike is now shared by a team of three riders. History The Bol d’Or, first organized by Eugene Mauve, in 1922, was a race for motorcycles ...

race, during a time when it was raced by cars and motorcycles. The factory at

produced bicycles during World War II. It also produced aircraft parts for the German War machine and in January 1944 the Marquis, along with other French resistance groups, launched a secret attack on the factory and caused considerable damage.

The Resistance, Matthew Cobb, Page 176 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. After World War II, the company was renamed CEMEC. As a victory spoil, it was the recipient of many motorcycle parts from the German company BMW and the company was able to construct its own motorcycles, sharing many common features with the BMW brand. General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, outfitted his presidential escort with Ratier motorcycles. There were only 1,200 motorcycles produced after the government failed to renew its contract with the company. Today in Figeac, the company produces aircraft parts, in particular for

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

Timeline

1904 : Ratier was created by the joiner, Paulin Ratier, in order to fabricate wooden plane-propellers. 1908 : Paulin Ratier joins with the industrial engineer Bernard Montet to produce the propellers for the Breguet XIV bomber 1914-1918 : War increases demand and production times are tightened. 1917 : Ratier opens a new factory at Figeac in an old saw-mill. Ratier chose Figeac for the abundant wood-supplies in the region, necessary for propeller production. 1919-1929 : After the war, demand falls and Ratier must diversify into other products. Ratier begins to produce toys, electrical appliances and telephones. At the same time, metal propellers come onto the scene and Ratier patents a variable pitch propeller, putting the company among the world's top producers. 1939 : Ratier outfits 90% of the French Air Force, holds 63 world records, 32 foreign licenses, and has branches in Algeria, Switzerland and in Morocco. The company employs 500 persons. 1941 : Aircraft demand plummets and the company resorts to producing bicycles. 1949-1950 : The company experiences a crisis from lack of demand. The workforce falls below 100. 1951-1961 : Exceptional business opportunities allow the company to diversify and multiply its workforce by 10. G. Forest takes over the company and opens a tool-die factory at Capdenac (today's Forest-Line factory), not far from Figeac. 1961 : Momentum builds in propeller production with Transall and l’Atlantic in particular, and Ratier becomes the flight equipment manufacturer for the Caravelle 1968 : Ratier produces propellers and fan-lift engines. 1970 : Ratier begins working with Airbus to fill orders. 1980 : Ratier produces composite propellers in conjunction with Hamilton Sundstrand and sees its projects multiply with Airbus, Eurocopter, Bombardier, ATR... 1990 : Hamilton Sundstrand brings in new capital to Ratier-Figeac with 20.5% of its parts. 1998 : Hamilton Sundstrand acquires 100% of its capital 2001 : Ratier-Figeac receives the order to produce the elevator for the Airbus A380 2003 : Ratier-Figeac obtains the contract to produce the propellers for the A400M. 2007 : Ratier-Figeac is the only propeller producer for the Hamilton Sundstrand group. It will be entirely incorporated by 2008.

References

David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''.

External links

*
History of CMR, CEMEC and Ratier motorcycles (in French)
{{Major French motorcycle manufacturers Aerospace companies of France Aircraft propeller manufacturers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Motorcycle manufacturers of France French brands